It is the winter solstice for Afghan people. As Western nations prepare for the annual drunkenness that tends to reflect Christmas, ideas – and charities – should be protected from the Afghan people. Only those who are lucky enough will have enough food, and then less, like the world is treading dangerously near famine.
A the verdict was handed down in unison Wednesday by the UN Security Council to issue a resolution to the sanctions imposed on the Taliban, who have disrupted Afghanistan’s economic system, has been welcomed recently. Similarly, it is the US Treasury’s decision to issue special licenses that support the activities of non-governmental organizations. Islamic Cooperation has also announced a food security program with the support of the Islamic Development Bank. The actions should do more to prevent the flow of care that is most needed.
Time is of the essence. Already 98 percent of the 40m people are malnourished, and difficult especially in rural areas how the Afghan winter begins. Declaring hunger is an old meaning: by the time such a bad omen is officially recognized, it will be too late. The International Crisis Group, a rational think tank, has warned that famine could kill more people than in the past two decades since the coalition forces removed the Taliban.
This in itself should be a wake-up call for the US and its allies. Biden’s decision to release his troops as soon as possible this summer allowed the Taliban to move forward, bringing with it the brutality, stigma and discrimination against the government. Taliban’s decline in food insecurity has exacerbated the problem.
Sadly, until recently the US and its allies refused to change the sanctions regime unreasonably; fighting against the Taliban was abhorrent. While this is understandable, it has always meant that a country that relies on foreign currency to support its economy has a 20 percent decline within a year since the Taliban took over. These are one of the most difficult economic times in history, according to the UN, and Afghanistan suffer in the four months that it took five years of civil war in Syria to bring about. Even before the change of power, the country was hit hard by the drought as well as Covid-19.
The catastrophic fall has caused the ever-present knowledge of the working world to collapse as dominoes, from banking to health to education to sanitation. Even large private corporations are finding it very difficult to operate in a country where there are no working banks.
It did not take long for the Security Council to approve the amnesty for the penalty. Despite this week’s decision by the US to allow non-governmental organizations and donor agencies to operate legally, the trial should also focus on ensuring that banks are not at risk of relocating to Afghanistan, and that government agencies are working hard to reduce the recession.
Ensuring that aid flows to the needy and not to the Taliban is a secret. NGOs have tightened their grip on power since the Syrian war exposed fraud and waste. The UN is properly defending it requires strict reports. But Afghanistan is a high-risk area where Talibs affected by sanctions control government departments. Other risks should be acknowledged when it comes to treatment: to avoid extreme hunger, the perfect should not be the enemy of good.
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